


Unlocking the Door

by Fangirling_FTW



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Destiel - Freeform, Destiel Modern AU Challenge, Friends to Lovers, M/M, destiel au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 18:59:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12238794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirling_FTW/pseuds/Fangirling_FTW
Summary: Prompt:A teacher, a locked door, "You don't have to love me."***Dean Winchester doesn't believe in fate, but how else can he explain the turn his life takes when Castiel comes into it?





	Unlocking the Door

**Author's Note:**

> This was so much fun, I hope everyone enjoys!!

This is a joke, it has to be a joke.  That’s the only explanation for why the guy on campus that Dean hated the most had just unlocked his dorm room door and walked inside with a box of crap.  They both stand completely still for a moment, blue eyes meeting green, as they each process what's happening.

“The fuck are you doing here?” Dean asks, his voice embarrassingly high pitched.  Castiel sets the box down on the desk that hadn't been claimed yet, flexing his fingers as he turned back to Dean.

“I live here,” Castiel says simply.

“Are you serious?” Dean blurts, and Castiel’s surprised face fades into annoyance.

“Apparently so, according to my paperwork.”  Castiel pulls the rooming assignment paper out of his pocket, holding it up so Dean could see the room number printed next to Castiel’s name.  Dean barely keeps from rolling his eyes, running a hand through his hair agitatedly.

“Well this is fucking fantastic, then,” Dean bites out sarcastically.  Castiel frowns at him, the sharp disapproval in his blue eyes unmistakable.  He stands up straight and practically looks down his nose at Dean.

“You don’t have to love me,” Castiel spits in the scornful voice that Dean has grown so accustomed to hearing from him over the years.  “We just have to tolerate each other long enough to survive this semester.”   _ Tolerate  _ was a bit of an understatement, but Dean decided to let it go, turning away and dropping onto his already made twin bed.  Castiel spins on his heel and heads for the door, and Dean digs his phone out of his pocket to text the news to his friend Benny.

Of all the people on the entire school campus for Dean to be roomed with, it  _ had  _ to be the insufferable Castiel Novak.  The guy was rich, entitled, and had an attitude of superiority every time he talked to  _ anyone.   _

Castiel’s presence had plagued Dean’s entire college experience, ever since their first semester freshman year.  Naturally they first met in philosophy class; Dean was an agnostic and a firm believer in free will, Castiel was a Christian who was a firm believer in determinism.  Every time Castiel would speak up about his views on the class subjects, Dean had a compulsion to knock him down a peg.  (Professor Shirley had spent half the semester just trying to interrupt their arguments.)  

The worst part was Dean had no one but himself to blame for this living arrangement.  After all,  _ he  _ was the one trying to save money by getting a roommate in a regular dorm instead of signing up for one of the internship apartments just off campus.  He’d left it so last minute he didn’t get the usual pre move-in letter with his roommate’s information, and he was definitely starting to regret that now.

Dean’s mechanical engineering major and Castiel’s pre-med major meant that they kept having different math and science classes together, over and over.  Dean was sure that their teachers at this point planned their semesters around whether or not they had both of them in the same class, allowing time in their daily lesson plans for them to argue, which inevitably they always did.  

Dean scrolls through social media while Castiel moves his stuff in, piling his things next to the other bed in neat, organized stacks.  Dean’s three duffel bags of clothes and school supplies had already been haphazardly tossed in his dresser, his laptop on top of his desk along with his family photos.  Castiel seemed to have more books than personal items.  

“You know there’s a library on this campus?” Dean grunts when Cas moves in his fifth box of books.  His roommate doesn’t even spare him a glance, just sets the box down meticulously next to the others.  Dean reasoned that maybe four months of the silent treatment wouldn’t be so bad, at least it’d be better than constantly arguing with the guy.  The biggest downside would be the lack of privacy if he wanted to bring a date home.  Dean smirked to himself, wondering how his traditional Christian roommate would react the first time he brought a date back to the room.  He was halfway through a daydream about how best to scandalize Castiel when his phone started ringing.  Castiel glances at him long enough to look annoyed, and Dean pushes himself off his bed to answer the call, stepping out the door and letting it close behind him.

“Heya, Sammy,” Dean tries to sound cheerful, but his brother’s laugh over the phone is all he needs to hear to know he failed.

“Okay, what's wrong with  _ this _ roommate?” Sam asks.

“You remember that Castiel asshole I mentioned?” Dean says as he paces down the hallway.

“No...really?  That guy?  Who did you piss off?” Sam asks with a laugh.

“This isn't funny, Sam.”

“I know, sorry, it's just… it's like  _ karma  _ or something.”

“Since when do I believe in karma?” Dean grunts.  “And besides, what the hell have I done to deserve such bad karma anyway?” 

“Where should I start?” Sam laughs.  Dean goes to defend himself, but he has to admit Sam kinda has a point.

“Fine, whatever,” Dean huffs, scowling at a crack in the wall he’s pacing next to.  

“In all seriousness,” Sam sighed, “will you be okay rooming with him for a whole semester?”

“I can handle him, Sam.  And all I gotta do is sleep in this dorm room, I don’t have to deal with his pompous, bitchy attitude anywhere else.”

“Oh, you finally broke your streak?  No classes together this semester?”  There’s a brief pause while Dean mentally kicks himself.

“Son of a bitch,” Dean sighs.  

“Oh, you don’t know yet, do you?” Sam’s amusement is starting to piss Dean off.

“I didn’t exactly compare schedules, Sam!”  

“Alright!  Why don’t you call me back once you’re a little less angry?” Sam hums, and he hangs up the phone before Dean even gets a chance to say anything.  WIth a sigh, Dean walks back to his room and reaches for the handle before he remembers the doors in this building lock automatically.  Dean shoves his hands in his pockets.

No keys.

“Shit,” he sighs, knocking on the door.  Nothing.  “Castiel?  Little help?”  Still nothing.  Dean grits his teeth and balls his hands into fists.  “Please?  Come on, man, I left my keys in there.”

“Haven’t you heard?” Castiel calls back through the door.  “I’m a pompous asshole.  Just trying to live up to the reputation.”  Dean groans and leans his head against the door with a thud.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Dean says, knocking on the door again.  He nearly falls forward as the door swings open suddenly, Castiel standing there with a cold, intimidating look on his face.  

“Please do not make a habit of this.  Next time I will make you call security for a ket assist.”  Dean scowled at Castiel and pushed past him to drop onto his bed again.  “You’re welcome, by the way,” Castiel said haughtily.

“Whatever man,” Dean grumbled, putting on headphones and turning his back to the room.

This was going to be one fucking long semester.

 

Over the course of the next four months Dean subsequently locked himself out of the room six more times.

But Castiel hit a whopping  _ twelve _ .

 

***

_ Four Years Later _

 

“And then Charlie comes around the corner, practically shouting about how gay Steve and Bucky are for each other, and I thought that Kevin was going to have a stroke!!” Sam laughs over the phone.  Dean chuckles along with him, huddling deeper into his coat.  He'd been meaning to put work into the Impala’s heater, but it had been a warm fall so he'd put it off.  Of course, he got busy, and then the temperatures dropped thirty degrees in one day.  Which meant now he was freezing his ass off as he sat in the car and waited for his passenger.

“I'm surprised that Kevin kid is even still friends with you,” Dean laughs.

“He knows it's all in good fun,” Sam insists.  “Besides, he's pulled some serious pranks on all of us, it's only fair.”  

“Is that an argument you'd use in court, mister pre-law?”

“Shut up, Dean,” Sam huffed.  The side door to the vet’s office Dean was waiting next to opened, and Dean waved to the person who exited.

“Gotta go, Sammy, talk to you later!”

“Alright, Dean.  Say hi for me.”  Dean hangs up and smiles at his passenger as he opens the car door.

“I think it's colder in the car than it is outside,” Castiel huffs after sliding onto the leather seat and closing the Impala’s door behind him.

“Ha ha, if you don't like it you can walk home,” Dean scoffs, starting the Impala and shifting into gear.  The familiar hum of Baby’s engine fills the car as they drive, the quiet not awkward but not exactly normal for Cas either.  Cas had slipped his trench coat on over his scrubs, and he tugged at the sleeve buttons in the way that told Dean he was nervous.  “Rough day, Cas?” Dean asks.

“Hmm?”  He looks over at Dean and lets go of his sleeve.  “No, just, a little tired is all.”  Dean lets it go, the car lapsing back into silence as they head home.

Four years ago, if someone had told Dean he’d not only be friends with Castiel, but still living with him long after he was forced to by a college campus, he’d have shoved his fist in their face.  Yet here he was, picking Cas up after work to go back home to  _ their _ apartment.  That last semester in college had changed a lot of things in Dean’s life, and Castiel had been a big part of that.  

Cas was the one who pointed out that maybe Dean’s feelings about Benny had been more than platonic, and after he’d realized Benny wasn’t interested, Cas had been the one to support Dean through his bi-crisis.  He’d been there when Dean had come out to Sam.  He’d been there when Dean realized halfway through his internship that he wanted to be a teacher, and had backed him when he’d pleaded his case to his father.  

On the other side of that, Dean was there when Cas realized he couldn’t go through becoming a human doctor, and switched to veterinary school instead.  He’d been there when Cas had stood up to his domineering brother, and had been cut off from the family money by his insensitive mother.  

There’s some things that people go through with others and you just can’t help but be friends after.  And now Dean couldn’t imagine his life without Cas in it.

Sam had suggested that maybe all those changes happened because of the other, but Dean tossed it up to college graduation and growing up.  He’d known Cas for three years before they roomed together, if Cas was going to change him he would have done so much earlier.

It was Dean’s suggestion that they get an apartment together after school while they both figured out their rapidly changing lives.  Dean got work as a mechanic while he worked on getting a job teaching shop at a technical school, putting in almost 70 hours a week to make up the classes he’d missed.  Cas took a job at a vet’s office as a receptionist while finishing his veterinary degree, pulling double shifts of working and then school.  If they hadn’t been living together, Dean doubts he’d have done any socializing that first year after graduation, the lack of time and energy meant that most nights he and Cas would drop into the couch with a beer and pass out after half an hour of television.  

As the years went on, he and Cas grew closer and closer; no one on earth except maybe Sam knew him better than Cas.  Through breakups and family drama, through good days at work and bad, they had each other as a constant, steady friend.  After a year of this, there was really nothing they didn't know about each other.

Well,  _ almost  _ nothing.

Dean pulls into his favorite bar, Chitters, smiling at Cas as he killed the engine.

“Quick drink?  That okay?”  Cas smiles back and nods, pulling his coat tight around him as he follows Dean out of the car.  They walk inside and head straight for their usual high top by the bar, flagging down the owner who was currently pouring drinks.

“Hey, Jesse!” Dean shouts, tugging his jacket off his shoulders and hanging it on his chair as Cas slides out of his trench coat and does the same.  The burly man heads to their table, clapping Dean on the back and shaking Cas’ hand with a welcoming smile.

“Holy shit, you guys are frozen!” Jesse chuckles, waving at the bartender.  “Something happen to the car, Dean?”

“Yeah, I've just been lazy,” Dean sighs.  Jesse pours them each a tall whiskey, leaving the bottle on the table.  “Midterms at school to grade caught up to me, took a lot more time than I thought to get through the practical exams.  Been neglecting Baby a bit.”  When the heater had broken, Cas had been come home from work after losing not only a mother dog, but nearly all her puppies too, and had been  _ devastated. _  Dean had spent the majority of the two weeks after midterms taking care of his friend, working on his self confidence and mental health until Cas was back in the saddle.  He doesn't mention that to Jesse, but he can see it in Cas’ eyes when he meets them over the glass of whiskey Cas is sipping from.

“Ever regret becoming a teacher?” Jesse asks with a chuckle.

“Never.” Dean grins into his own glass.  Cas gives him a beaming smile.

“Ha, alright then, Winchester.  Two regulars coming up, one with everything, one just pickles?”

“Thanks, Jesse,” Cas says with a smile.  Jesse walks off to the kitchen, and after a moment Jesse’s husband, Cesar, pokes his head out of the back to wave a quick hello.  “They’re pretty happy, aren't they?” Cas says quietly as he raises his hand in greeting.

“Sure seems like it.  Better be to work with your spouse like that, I suppose.”  Dean pours them each another whiskey, watching as Cas cradles the glass carefully.  “You sure you're okay?” Dean asks gently, nudging Cas’ shin with his foot.  

“Yeah,” Cas says quickly.  “We just had a busy day today.”  Cas must notice the skeptic look on Dean’s face, and he nudges Dean’s leg back, smiling.  “I promise, I'm fine.  No lost patients, nothing like that.  Just a steady stream of difficult dogs.”

“If you say so,” Dean says reluctantly.  “You just seem a little distracted.”  Cas had been out of sorts for a couple days now, but it hadn't been this bad.

“Just zoning out on nothing.  How were the kids today?” Cas asks, sipping at the liquor in front of him.  Dean recognized Cas’ textbook deflection, trying to get him to talk about his students, but he let it go.

“This is a good group.  They pick up on stuff quickly, and they at least take me seriously.”  Dean’s last batch of students hadn't believed someone with his ‘pretty face’ could be a grease monkey.  Dean had proved them wrong, but they hadn't stopped giving him grief all semester.

Dean and Cas continue talking as they eat their bacon double cheeseburgers.  Chitters had the best burgers for miles, he and Cas hardly went anywhere else.  After settling the check, Dean and Cas bundled back up to head out to the car, and Dean drove them the rest of the way back to their apartment.  Sliding into his usual parking spot, Dean locks the car and climbs out, making his way to the main door of their building and sliding the key into the shared front door.

Except the door wouldn't open.

“Uh, Cas?  Want to try your key?” Dean asks.  Cas’ face falls.

“Oh,  _ shit,  _ Dean I’m sorry.  They changed the locks this morning.”  Dean blinks at his roommate.

“Uh, okay, so...didn't they give you the new keys?”

“They did, but I...I might have forgotten them in the apartment,” Cas groaned, running his hand through his hair.  Dean blinks at Cas a few times, waiting to see if he's kidding.  The remorseful look on Cas’ face tells him he's not.

“Guess we’re calling Pam.  Again,” Dean sighed.

“I'm so sorry, Dean.  I'll do it if you-”

“No, I got it,” Dean waved away Cas’ apology, pulling his phone out and dialing the landlady’s number.  This happened enough Dean had it memorized by now.

Pam was a little grumpy about being interrupted in the middle of the night, as Dean expected, and the two of them settled down to wait on the bench by the front door, huddled together to protect as best they could from the cold.  Cas had his head in his hands, and Dean reached over to rub his back gently.

“Last time, I promise, but are you sure you're okay?” he asks again.  Cas huffs a sigh that Dean can physically see in the cold.

“No, Dean.  I'm not.”  Dean’s hand pauses over Cas’ right shoulder blade. 

“What is it?” Dean asks.  Cas is quiet for a moment, and when he does finally speak his voice is frail, ready to break under the weight of what he's saying.

“Do you remember Hannah’s birthday party?”

“It was only last week, Cas.”

“Well, you got fairly drink,” Cas counters.

“C’mon, I wasn't  _ that _ drunk.”

“You kissed me.”  Dean removes his hand from Cas’ back.   _ Oh, right. _

“Hannah wasn't understanding the word ‘no’,” Dean shrugged.  “Cas, I've apologized for that, over and over.  I don't know what else you want me to do.”

“I don't either,” Cas sighs.  Pam’s footsteps startle Cas into standing up suddenly.

“You boys are lucky you're cute,” she scoffs as she opens the door for them.

“I'm told it's my only saving grace,” Cas chuckles, stepping inside the building and starting up the stairs.  Pam raises an eyebrow at Dean.

“Hey, don't look at me, this one was all on him!” Dean throws up his hands defensively. 

“Hmm, got my eye on you, Dean,” she hums, turning back towards her own apartment.  Dean hurried up the stairs after Cas, catching up to him as he attempted to get their door open with trembling hands.  

“Okay, seriously, Cas, what's going on?” Dean asks, but Cas ignores him, finally getting the door open and pushing his way inside.  He kicks off his shoes as Dean shuts the door behind them, and Dean can see he's about to flee the conversation.  He reaches out, grabbing Cas’ arm and tugging just hard enough to get him to stop.  “Cas-”

“This is all your fault!” Cas snaps, leaning against the wall in defeat.  “Everything was fine until you- you…”  Dean waits in silence but Cas doesn't seem to plan on finishing that thought.

“Do you not want to live here anymore?” Dean asks, his stomach sinking into the floor.

“What?!”  Cas looks hurt at the mere suggestion.  “No, it's just…” Cas sucks a breath in through his teeth and holds it for a beat before exhaling all at once.  His eyes are focused on Dean’s shins, his hands still tugging at his coat nervously.  “You don't have to love me,” Cas mutters, his voice breaking, “but I can't  _ not  _ love you.”

It's so quiet in the apartment Dean thinks he can hear the dust sifting through the air.

Cas...Cas  _ loves  _ him?

A laugh bubbles up through his chest, and Dean’s unable to stop it from bursting out loud, until he's laughing so hard he's gasping for air.  Cas’ face falls, utter dejection in his eyes as he misinterprets Dean’s laugh, and it's enough to bring Dean back to himself.  He cradles Cas’ face in his hands, wiping away Cas’ embarrassed tears with his thumbs.

“You're so... _ god,  _ Cas.  How haven't you noticed?”

“Noticed what?” Cas sputtered.  Dean leaned into Cas’ space, holding their foreheads together.

“I’ve been in love with you since college,” Dean breathes.  Cas’ face is completely blank for a moment, his mouth working soundlessly.

“ _ What?”  _  The single word explodes out of Cas, part relief, part disbelief.

“Oh, I didn't realize it at first,” Dean admits.  “Tried to get over you, too, with all those other people.  But ever since you walked into my dorm room with all those goddamned books…”  Dean waits while Cas processes what he's just confessed, his blue eyes scanning every bit of Dean’s face.  “I just figured you'd never want that with me and I just... let you go,” Dean admits. 

“So...you...I’m so sorry, Dean.”

“For what?” Dean chuckles, wondering what the hell Cas could be  _ sorry _ for.

“For not realizing sooner.”  Cas presses himself into Dean’s space, his hands resting on Dean’s waist.  Dean’s head is practically spinning trying to absorb what’s happening, but Cas’ hands are on him and the heat of his body is so close it’s hard for Dean to  _ think. _  “Dean?  Everything alright?” Cas asks, and Dean leans forward, resting his head gently against Cas’.

“It’s okay, Cas,” he sighs, “I’m okay.”

“We really slacked off on this one,” Cas laughs breathily.

“Nah, we just...took our time to be friends first.”  Dean nearly rolls his eyes at how fucking corny this all is but Cas is smiling and he doesn’t really care anymore.  “We've learned what pisses each other off, what parts we don't like about ourselves.”  Cas smirks at the same memories Dean is thinking about, which basically consisted of Cas nagging at Dean until he cleaned the apartment or emptied the laundry.  “I'm grateful for that.  All that's gonna change between us,” Dean hums, wrapping an arm around Cas’ waist and tugging until their bodies were pressed together in one long line, “is I get to do this now.”

He kisses him.  And Cas kisses back.  It's filled with relief and longing, emotions thick between them.  Dean bites too hard and Cas’ nails dig into Dean’s skin, but it's still  _ perfect _ , tongues sliding together as they learn the feel of each other's lips.

Cas makes love to Dean, and he already knows how Dean likes it, rough and tumble, biting and bruising, till their muscles ache and there's nothing left but to fall together into oblivion.

 

***

_ Four years later _

 

“Of course you're running late, it's not like this is important or anything,” Sam scolds, nearly dislocating Dean’s shoulder as he forces him into his clothes.

“Give me a break, Sam,” Dean groans, adjusting his shirt and jacket as Sam nearly chokes him with a tie.  “Just once, a little sympathy.”

“Really?!  You- sympathy?  That’s what you-“ Sam sputters.  He shoves Dean down to sit on the couch and kicks his shoes at him.  “Just...finish getting ready.  I'm going to call Jess.”  His little brother stalks off, and Dean grins.  It may seem mean to an outsider, but he knew Sam was enjoying this opportunity to boss Dean around for once.  He pulls on his shoes, wincing as they pinch his toes a little.  He was used to his worn out boots, molded to the exact shape of his feet, not whatever the hell these things were.  His phone pings with a text, and he pulls it out of his pocket.

 

_ Cas: This is utterly ridiculous. _

_ You: Which part? The clothes, the chaos, or my brother trying to herd people? _

_ Cas: Yes. _

 

Dean smirks, and he’s halfway through typing a response when the phone is snatched from his hands.

“Dude, what the hell?!” he snaps, trying to wrestle it back from his overgrown brother.

“Come on, Dean.  The more you cooperate, the sooner this will all be over,” Sam reasons.  

“Fine.”  Dean sulks but pushes himself to his feet and makes his way to the bathroom, running some mousse through his hair and brushing his teeth one more time.

He was as ready as he was going to be.

Sam checks him over one more time before nodding in approval.

“Okay, let's do this.”  They leave Sam’s apartment, climbing into Baby and driving across town to the public park.  The weather was surprisingly beautiful, the early evening sky clear and bright, even though Dean had been sure all week that they were going to be rained out.  Dean parks a short distance away, watching the group of people milling about the collection of picnic tables and folding chairs.  Sam’s best friend Charlie notices the car and waves frantically, hiking up her dress and rushing towards them.  Dean rolls his window down as Sam climbs out of the car.

“You’re going to kill yourself in those heels,” Dean points out.

“These are nothing, you should have seen my Galadriel cosplay,” she waves his concern away.  “You guys ready?”

“ _ I  _ was ready an hour ago,” Sam grumbles as he walks off towards the group.

“Bite me,” Dean snaps at his brother’s back.  He climbs out of the car and Charlie wraps him up in a hug so tight Dean can’t help but smile.  “Alright, enough of that,” Dean sighs, ruffling her hair as she pulls away.

“You looked like you needed it,” she shrugged.  Dean took a deep breath, looking over her shoulder at the mostly seated crowd of people.

“I did,” Dean admits.  She squeezes his hand and walks back to the group, giving Dean a few minutes alone to collect his thoughts.  The entire group is sitting now aside from four people, and the park goes quiet as they all stop talking.  Dean’s nerves start to creep in, so he focused on one of the four people still standing.

Castiel.  Dean sees the back of his head, the spread of his shoulders, and he smiles to himself as his tension melts away.  Sam has made it to where Cas is standing, and he can see they’re talking, but Cas doesn’t turn around.  The adorable brat had been a  _ stickler  _ for this particular silly wedding tradition, and Dean couldn’t talk him out of it.  He’d hardly spoke to Cas in almost 24 hours, and the buzzing tension under his skin was fit to burst.  Dean had to admit that it probably meant tonight would be fucking  _ awesome,  _ but he’d never admit that to Cas.

Finally ready, he walks forward, one foot in front of the other, until he’s standing next to Cas and sliding their fingers together.

“You’re late,” Cas whispers as Jody steps forward.

“You’re hot as fuck,” Dean whispers back.  The officiate Jody Mills, a good friend of Dean’s, raises an eyebrow at him that quickly shuts him up, and Cas snorts a quiet laugh.  Sam is standing next to him trying not to smile and Cas’ cousin Gabe on the other side of Cas not doing quite as good a job at the same thing.

“Neighbors, friends, family,” Jody begins, “we are gathered here today because for some reason these two want to get hitched.”  There’s some catcalls from the group of friends and family, Dean’s once estranged father John in the front row smiling at him proudly, and the nerves start to set in, Dean squeezing Cas’ hand that much tighter.  “Get your cameras out,” she continues, “because they’ve prepared their own vows, and ya’ll know they ain’t gonna get this schmoopy in front of a crowd again.”  Even Dean laughs at that, and with a wink from Jodi, he turns to face Cas.  They’d decided in rehearsal Cas would go first, so Dean looks into those  _ gorgeous  _ blue eyes and tells himself not to fucking cry.

“Dean, we lived two very different lives growing up, and because of that, when we met we were two very different people.  I credit our friendship to your lasting stubbornness, your need to always be right, because if you didn’t possess those qualities, I don’t think I ever would have let you in.  To my heart, or to the dorm room when you forgot your keys.”  Dean smirks and Cas blushes as he continues.  “I have one regret,” Cas sighs, his voice taking on a small tremor, “and that’s how long I took to realize how much I loved you.”  Cas grins like an idiot and there’s some awws and cheers from the crowd, but his eyes don’t leave Dean’s.

Panic threatens to overcome Dean, sealing his throat and making his hands shake, but then Cas shakes his arm slightly, and he takes a deep breath.  

He can do this, Cas deserves that much.  He ignores the eyes of his entire family and friends on him, as well as the sweat on his brow.   _ Man up, you got this. _  He’d practiced his vows over and over in his mind for weeks, it was finally time to deliver.

“You don’t have to love me,” he begins.  “That’s what you said to me, quite condescendingly, when we were forced into becoming roommates.  And back then, I believed it.  I believed that I could see your kindness and not want to know how it felt to receive it.  Once I had your friendship, I believed I could ignore my longing for you and get over it.  Once I had you, I believed I could hurt you and not feel the guilt that came with it.”  Cas’ eyes widen in understanding as his smile falters, but Dean needed to put this into his vows, even if no one else knew the whole story.

He and Cas had been arguing about Dean’s father coming back into his life.  In hindsight Dean realized it was because Cas was worried about him, but at the time it had pissed Dean off so much he’d gotten drunk and shouted for the world to hear that  _ he didn’t want Cas. _  Two days later he’d found Cas alone in their apartment with his ex, Balthazar.  Dean had drank so much that night he was hospitalized, and then Cas had nursed him back to health, and wormed his way back into his heart.

“You never gave up on me, though,” Dean sighs, closing his eyes against the memories.  “You forgave me when I couldn’t forgive myself.  You’ve always been there when I’ve needed you the most.  I may be the teacher, but you’ve taught me so much, about being strong, and having faith. You said I didn’t have to love you?  I don’t think I could have avoided it if I’d tried.”  Dean sucks in a breath, and in as strong a voice he can muster, he says three words he’s never said aloud to anyone but the man in front of him.  “I love you.”

Dean can hear the audience sniffling as they cheer and clap, and even Sam is clearing a lump out of his throat.

“The rings, please,” Jody says gruffly.  Dean turns and Sam drops a ring into his palm, beaming at him.  

_ “Shit _ !” Gabe hisses fumbling for a moment as he almost drops the ring he’s trying to hand to Cas.  He catches it and stuffs it into Cas’ palm as the group chuckles.

“With these rings, you two agree to hold to your vows.  To be true and loyal to each other, to take the bad with the good, to protect and to provide.”  Jody nods at Cas, and Dean holds out his hand, feeling ridiculously silly as Cas slides his ring on his finger with a shy giggle.  Dean’s next, sliding his ring over Cas’ finger, the full weight of what’s just happened starting to sink in.  “I now pronounce you two married,” Jody finishes with a smirk.  “Keep it PG you two.”

Dean barely has time to smile before Cas is pulling him into a kiss, arms wrapped tightly around Dean’s neck.  People are cheering and whistling and Dean swears he’s literally  _ floating  _ he’s so happy.

They don’t have to relocate for the reception, food is laid out across the picnic benches and people help themselves, Gabriel setting up a sound system to play some music.  Sam gives a speech, and surprisingly so does Dean’s father.  John’s words about Dean’s mom Mary leaves everyone wiping at their eyes and sniffling, Dean included.  Dean basks in the love of his family and friends, glued to Cas’ side like if he steps too far away he’ll wake up from this dream. 

When it’s finally polite enough to go, Dean and Cas make their goodbyes and quite obviously rush to the Impala.  Dean drives them to a nearby hotel for the night, the honeymoon suite a gift from Gabriel.  The Impala was already packed for their honeymoon, a cross country  road trip they’d be leaving on the next day.

“Your vows were beautiful,” Cas breathes as he nuzzles into Dean’s neck in the elevator once they’ve checked in.  He squeezes the room key in his hand willing the elevator to go faster.

“Yours were pretty awesome too,” Dean gasps as Cas nibbles at his ear.  The elevator stops on their floor and they stumble down the hall to their hotel room.  Dean unlocks the door, turning the handle and pausing when Cas reaches out to lay a hand on his arm.

“Dean?”

“Yeah, Cas?”

“I love you.”  Dean beams at Cas as he pushes the door open, picking him up bridal style as Cas laughs.

“Love you too, Cas.”

The door firmly locks behind them.


End file.
